Customised insoles in 30 minutes
03/04/2008
A team of five Brigham Young University (BYU) undergraduate students has developed a machine that can create a customised insole in 30 minutes. It was a part of the students’ final presentation at the end of a special two-semester programme at BYU that places sponsors with engineering students to develop new technologies.
One member of team, Tyson Triplett, said on completing the project: “Over-the-counter orthotics aren’t good enough, and it takes too long for prescription orthotics from a doctor to come through. This idea bridges the gap.”
The team’s sponsor, Brent Johnson, wants now to commercialise the idea, under the name Sole Orthotic Solutions. He set out to create a custom orthotics machine after he found it difficult to find proper footwear for his son, who has cerebral palsy.
Mr Johnson attended classes to become a pedorthist before starting work with students from the BYU programme in 2006. He and the student team took the original idea further and developed the new machine. Mr Johnson is so confident about its potential for success that he recently left his engineering job to bring Sole Orthotic Solutions to market. He has a patent pending on the machine at the heart of the solution.
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